Use Of Breast Pumps Research Articles

A double-edged sword: lactation consultants' perceptions of the impact of breast pumps on the practice of breastfeeding.

This qualitative descriptive study examined the beliefs and experiences of 12 lactation consultants regarding the impact of breast pumps on breastfeeding practices. Interview topics on breast pumps included types and patterns of use, mothers' experiences, and advantages and risks. The lactation consultants reported an increase in the use of breast pumps due to improved marketing, a change in society's view of pumps as a necessity rather than a luxury, and the impact of birthing technology. Reasons given for this increased use were mothers' need to have greater control over the breastfeeding process and to quantify the amount of breastmilk. Concerns were expressed regarding an overdependency on breastfeeding technology by some lactation consultants and mothers.

Infant Feeding Practices Study II: Study Methods

Our goal is to describe the methods used in the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II), a study of infant feeding and care practices throughout the first year of life. Survey topics included breastfeeding, formula and complementary feeding, infant health, breast-pump use, food allergies, sleeping arrangements, mother's employment, and child care arrangements. In addition, mothers' dietary intake was measured prenatally and postnatally. The IFPS II sample was drawn from a nationally distributed consumer opinion panel of 500,000 households. All questionnaires were administered by mail, 1 prenatally and 10 postpartum. Qualifying criteria were used to achieve the sample goals of mothers of healthy term and late preterm singleton infants. In addition to the questionnaires about the infants, women were sent a diet-assessment questionnaire prenatally and at approximately 4 months after delivery; this questionnaire was also sent to members of a comparison group who were neither pregnant nor postpartum. A sample of 4902 pregnant women began the study, and approximately 2000 continued through their infant's first year. Response rates ranged from 63% to 87% for the different questionnaires. Compared with adult mothers of singletons from the nationally representative sample of the National Survey of Family Growth, IFPS II participants had a higher mean education level; were older; were more likely to be middle income, white, and employed; were less likely to smoke; and had fewer other children. Compared with women who participated in the National Immunization Survey who gave birth in 2004, IFPS II mothers were more likely to breastfeed and to breastfeed longer. The IFPS II provides a valuable database because of its large sample size, the frequency of its questionnaires, and its wide coverage of issues salient to infant feeding.

Infant Feeding and Care Practices in the United States: Results From the Infant Feeding Practices Study II

This supplemental issue of Pediatrics presents the first set of results from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II), which were chosen to cover a wide range of the topics included in the study. The IFPS II was conducted collaboratively by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and was co-funded by other agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services, as indicated in “Acknowledgments.” The design of the IFPS II was similar to that of the original study (the IFPS I), which was conducted in 1992–1993. In the current longitudinal survey, a large cohort of 4900 women was enrolled prenatally, and >2000 were followed through the first year of their infant's life. The mothers were mailed 1 prenatal and 10 postnatal questionnaires at approximate monthly intervals; in addition, prenatal and postnatal subsamples were administered a dietary intake questionnaire. The questionnaires were modeled on the IFPS I, but the IFPS II included several new topics such as postpartum depression, consumption of herbal and alternative medicines, breast-pump use, and infant sleeping arrangements. The details of the study methods and a list of publications from the IFPS I are presented in an article by Fein et al1 in this supplement. Why an IFPS II? In the decade since the IFPS I, significant changes have occurred in the products, policies, information, and education related to infant feeding choices. Breast pumps have become more effective and more affordable; new ingredients have been added to infant formula; and changes in state and federal laws have reduced some barriers to breastfeeding. Policies and recommendations about infant feeding (duration and exclusivity) have changed. In 2004–2006, the Department of Health and Human Services conducted a national breastfeeding-promotion campaign, the impact of which had to be evaluated. Thus, the … Address correspondence to Sara B. Fein, PhD, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy, HFS 020, College Park, MD 20740. E-mail: sara.fein{at}fda.hhs.gov

Expressing Anxiety? Breast pump usage in American wage workplaces

This article considers the potential and problems for women seeking to combine breastfeeding with wage labor outside the home through the use of breast pumps. After locating the breast pump within cultural, historical and legislative contexts of shifting views about infant nutrition on the one hand and trends in women's participation in the wage work force on the other, we unpack how this technology has re-shaped the landscape of choices about infant feeding in the United States. Using disciplinary lenses of science and technology studies, feminist geography and women's studies, we examine how the breast pump has reshaped workplace experiences after childbirth. Based on interviews and survey data with respondents in Albany, New York across a range of class and racial backgrounds, we submit that while the breast pump does allow some women to combine breastfeeding and wage work outside the home, the advantages of breast pumps are constrained both by cultural attitudes about pumping as an activity, the lack of a sufficient legislative framework, as well as by the way workplaces themselves are designed.

Supporting breastfeeding mothers on children’s wards: an overview

Just under half of all six-week-old babies in the U.K. are breastfed, and just under a quarter are still being breastfed at six months old so it is likely that children's nurses will frequently encounter breastfed babies on children's wards. Support for breastfeeding has traditionally been left to midwives but Department of Health guidance requires that all relevant staff have training in this practice. Children's nurses need to understand the principles and practice of breastfeeding support including correct positioning and attachment, prevention and management of breastfeeding problems, mothers' needs and safe use of breast pumps. Breastfeeding should be part of the curriculum for children's nursing courses, including practical sessions to observe breastfeeding support in the clinical setting. Children's nurses should be aware that literature and learning resources written for midwives might be appropriate for them to access to increase their understanding in this important area of practice.

Electric Breast Pump Use Increases Maternal Milk Volume in African Nurseries

Health experts worldwide recognize breastmilk as the superior infant food. Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization (WHO) identify exclusive breastfeeding for the first half-year of life and continuation of breastfeeding into toddlerhood as offering maximum protection from illness, providing a substrate for immunological protection. Data from developed countries identify increasing morbidity and mortality rates for infants who have never received breastmilk in life and demonstrate that infants benefit from exclusive breastfeeding, especially, in areas of severe poverty. Preterm infants, most at risk for morbidity and mortality in developing countries, are identified as needing their own mother's milk for survival. Exclusive feeding of own mothers' milk (OMM) is associated with improved infant survival; however, inadequate maternal milk volume (MMV) often necessitates adding artificial feedings or exogenous substances to OMM. The objective of this study was to compare mean daily MMV for mothers of premature or sick infants in special care nurseries (SCN) using one of three methods of OMM expression: electric breast pump, non-electric pedal breast pump, and hand (manual) expression. We studied 65 mothers whose infants were cared for in two SCN in Africa (Kenya and Nigeria) and were unable to feed directly at the breast. In this randomized trial, mothers were randomly assigned to one of three milk expression groups at birth. MMV, the dependent variable, was measured for an average of 8.7 days. MMV for the electric and pedal pump and hand milk expression was 578 +/- 228 ml (n = 22), 463 +/- 302 ml (n = 24) and 323 +/- 199 ml (n = 19), respectively. Data were evaluated using a one-way ANOVA (p = 0.014). The Tukey revealed significant differences (p < 0.01) between electric breast pump expression and hand expression but not between the electric and pedal pump or the pedal pump and hand expression. Findings revealed greater MMV with electric breast pumps than hand-expression for mothers of infants in African nurseries. This data has important implications for international policy if exclusive OMM feeding is to be achieved for the vulnerable infant. Funded by West Virginia University Department of Research and Graduate Studies HSC Grant # 2U023U; Non-monetary donations of breast pumps and breast pump kits were made by Medela (Medela, Inc., McHenry, IL, USA).

Promoting the exclusive feeding of own mother's milk through the use of hindmilk and increased maternal milk volume for hospitalized, low birth weight infants (< 1800 grams) in Nigeria: a feasibility study.

A feasibility study was used to determine (1) if hindmilk feedings of own mother's milk, as reported in the United States, could be instituted in a Nigerian neonatal intensive care unit and result in adequate infant weight gain without exogenous additives; and (2) if the use of a hospital-grade electric breast pump to separate foremilk from hindmilk was feasible in this setting. Mean weight gain for 16 preterm infants during the hindmilk intervention (18.8 g/d) exceeded intrauterine standards without the use of exogenous substances. At the time of hospital discharge, mean maternal daily milk volume was 342 mL/kg/d, indicating that the infants, on average, had 90% more milk available to them than they required. Mean infant weight gains were 14.2 and 16.6 g/d from 1 to 7 and 8 to 23 (x = 14.8) days postdischarge, respectively. Therefore, hindmilk feedings are effective and feasible for hospitalized, low birth weight infants in developing countries, and lactation specialists may use our protocol for further research.

Promoting the Exclusive Feeding of Own Mother's Milk through the Use of Hindmilk and Increased Maternal Milk Volume for Hospitalized, Low Birth Weight Infants (&lt; 1800 grams) in Nigeria: A Feasibility Study

A feasibility study was used to determine (1) if hindmilk feedings of own mother’s milk as reported in the United States could be instituted in a Nigerian neonatal intensive care unit and result in adequate infant weight gain without exogenous additives; and (2) if the use of a hospitalgrade electric breast pump to separate foremilk from hindmilk was feasible in this setting. Mean weight gain for 16 preterm infants during the hindmilk intervention (18.8 g/d) exceeded intrauterine standards without the use of exogenous substances. At the time of hospital discharge mean maternal daily milk volume was 342 mL/kg/d indicating that the infants on average had 90% more milk available to them than they required. Mean infant weight gains were 14.2 and 16.6 g/d from 1 to 7 and 8 to 23 (x = 14.8) days post discharge respectively. Therefore hindmilk feedings are effective and feasible for hospitalized lowbirth weight infants in developing countries and lactation specialists may use our protocol for further research. (authors)

Supporting the employed breastfeeding mother

The number of women in the workforce is continuing to increase and surveys suggest that one-fourth of employed women with a child less than 1 year of age will be concurrently breastfeeding and working for at least 1 month. Combining breastfeeding and employment is a complex process in American society. Women will be seeking practical, sound advice on how to be successful in this combination. This article offers suggestions for promoting its success, describes the pre-planning that needs to occur, and provides current lactation recommendations and resources. It also offers information about working with employers, the importance of a support network, decisions that each family must make, the use of breast pumps, milk storage, lactation enhancement including the use of herbs, and practical tips for the mother’s working day.

A bacteriological examination of breast pumps

In an investigation of the source of an outbreak of Serratia marcescens infection in a special care baby unit, several breast pumps used in the hospital and community were examined. The epidemic strain was isolated from two pumps and other Gram-negative organisms, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus faecalis were isolated from seven. The findings indicate that breast pumps may be a potential source of contamination of the user, her breast milk, infant and environment. Our recommendations regarding the use of breast pumps are presented.

Prolactin response to breast stimulation in lactating women is not mediated by endogenous opioids

Several reports have shown that the prolactin response to suckling in rats can be blunted by administration of the opiate antagonist naloxone. In order to investigate whether the prolactin response to breast stimulation in women is similarly affected by naloxone, nine healthy lactating women participated in 10 studies. Each woman served as her own control and was studied on two occasions, receiving pretreatment with either saline solution or naloxone. Prolactin was measured in the baseline state and for 60 minutes after the onset of a 20-minute period of nipple stimulation by use of the Egnell mechanical breast pump. Neither baseline nor stimulated prolactin values were different by paired t test. Thus, in contrast to rats, an opioid pathway does not appear to be involved in the prolactin response to suckling in humans.